I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to attachments for basketball goals which use a post fixed in the ground, and more particularly to rebound devices attachable to the post for returning a basketball to a practicing player.
II. Description of Prior Art
When a person shoots a basketball toward a basketball goal, the direction of travel of the ball after it has gone through the net is oftentimes unpredictable. If the player is lucky, the ball will slowly bounce back directly to the player after the shot. Most of the time, however, the ball either bounces to a stop underneath the goal, or rolls away to the side. This scenario can be very frustrating for the player who wishes to practice a particular shot from a fixed position, because it (1) breaks the concentration of the player and (2) causes the player to chase after the ball between each shot.
A wide variety of devices have been developed for returning a basketball to a player under these conditions. The primary objective of all these inventions is to facilitate the shooting aspect of basketball practice by allowing the player to shoot from a fixed position and have the ball immediately returned to him.
One such device disclosed in Williams (U.S. Pat. No. 2,889,149) is a coordination training device for children comprising a return device attached to the goal support post. It is designed for very close quarters and can only return the ball within a predetermined arc to a semi-circle of children ready to received the rebounded ball. While it provides some vertical adjustability, this adjustment must be inconveniently made directly at its attachment to the pole. In addition, there is no adjustment for horizontal angle, so it is not versatile enough for adult players desiring to develop their shooting skills from large distances from the goal or from particular points around the goal.
Two other return devices are disclosed in Zinger (U.S. Pat. No. 4,786,052) and Nolde, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,224) which each include a downwardly inclined deflector surface attached to the backboard of the goal underneath the net. The Nolde device has the advantage of being easily removable, whereas the Zinger device is permanently attached. While these rebound devices can be used by adults, they are apparently limited to returning only "free throw" shots, because neither device offers any adjustability with respect to shot angle.
Various other means have been developed to return the basketball to the practicing player, but they are either attached to the goal rim or backboard, or they are too mechanically complex. Therefore, there is a need for a basketball rebound device for use by adults which (1) can be easily attached to the goal support post, (2) offers adjustability with respect to the height of the rebound surface relative to the goal rim, (3) offers adjustability to compensate for the difference in distances between the support post and the goal rim, and (4) offers angular adjustability of the rebound surface, all so that shots can be practiced from virtually any angle from the goal.